The word ‘autism’ originated from the root Greek word ‘autos’ meaning “self,” and the word autism was probably first used in the early 1900’s by Swiss psychologist Eugene Bleuler to describe children who had schizophrenic symptomology and great difficulties relating to others (Gillberg & Coleman, 2000). The most widely used definition of autism in the United States is by DSM-IV-TR(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition-Text Revision). This clinical practice guide classifies autism as a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). These ASD and PDD are terms that can be and are used identically to describe the same disabilities. In this context, children and youth identified are characterized by having core deficits in three areas:
1. Qualitative impairment in reciprocal social interaction (at least 2 categories such as eye interaction, lack of social or emotional reciprocity).
2. Qualitative impairments in communication (at least 1 category such as lack of development in language, impairment to initiate or sustain conversation.)
3. Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities (at least 1 category such as repetitive motor mannerisms or persistent pre-occupation with parts of objects.) *The DSM-IV is missing sensory and self-injurious behavior in the criteria.
Autism Etiology
There are several theories that attempt to explain autism, including biological, psychological, cognitive, affective, and other models. Some models are purely genetic and biological in nature, whereas others include environmental causation or a combination of factors (Simpson, & Myles, 2007). A particular model posited by Gillberg & Coleman (2000) described autism as a spectrum of autistic syndromes. This conceptualization looks at autism as having many etiologies, or causes, and thus one must look at each “type”of autism in a new way. Symptoms range from mild cognitive, social, and behavioral deficits to more severe symptoms in which children are affected from intellectual disabilities and be non-verbal. Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.
Included in the five sub-types of ASD are:
Autistic Disorder- social interaction and communication impairments, repetitive, stereotypic, and restricted interests and activities prior to 36 months of age (APA, 2000).
Rett’s Disorder- rare genetic disorder (1/15,000) that almost exclusively affects females; characterized by a period of normal development followed by a deceleration of head growth accompanied by an increase in autism-related symptoms between 6 & 18 months (Ryan, Hughes, Katsiyannis, McDaniel, & Sprinkle, 2011).
Asperger’s Syndrome- no delays in verbal communication, often develop large vocabularies but often experience significant social skill deficits.
Pervasive Developmental DisorderNot Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)- used to describe children who exhibit at least one characteristic of an ASD subtype, but do not meet all of the specific diagnostic criteria (APA, 2000).
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)- very rare disorder (1/50,000) that typically affects males.
Scientists aren’t certain what causes autism, but it’s likely that both genetics and environment play a role. Researchers have identified a number of genes associated with the disorder. Studies of people with autism have found irregularities in several regions of the brain. Other studies suggest that people with autism have abnormal levels of serotonin or other neurotransmitters in the brain. These abnormalities suggest that autism could result from the disruption of normal brain development early in fetal development caused by defects in genes that control brain growth and that regulate how neurons communicate with each other. While these findings are intriguing, they are preliminary and require further study. The theory that parental practices are responsible for autism has now been disproved.
What is Autism?
The word ‘autism’ originated from the root Greek word ‘autos’ meaning “self,” and the word autism was probably first used in the early 1900’s by Swiss psychologist Eugene Bleuler to describe children who had schizophrenic symptomology and great difficulties relating to others (Gillberg & Coleman, 2000). The most widely used definition of autism in the United States is by DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition-Text Revision). This clinical practice guide classifies autism as a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). These ASD and PDD are terms that can be and are used identically to describe the same disabilities. In this context, children and youth identified are characterized by having core deficits in three areas:
1. Qualitative impairment in reciprocal social interaction (at least 2 categories such as eye interaction, lack of social or emotional reciprocity).
2. Qualitative impairments in communication (at least 1 category such as lack of development in language, impairment to initiate or sustain conversation.)
3. Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities (at least 1 category such as repetitive motor mannerisms or persistent pre-occupation with parts of objects.)
*The DSM-IV is missing sensory and self-injurious behavior in the criteria.
Autism Etiology
There are several theories that attempt to explain autism, including biological, psychological, cognitive, affective, and other models. Some models are purely genetic and biological in nature, whereas others include environmental causation or a combination of factors (Simpson, & Myles, 2007). A particular model posited by Gillberg & Coleman (2000) described autism as a spectrum of autistic syndromes. This conceptualization looks at autism as having many etiologies, or causes, and thus one must look at each “type”of autism in a new way. Symptoms range from mild cognitive, social, and behavioral deficits to more severe symptoms in which children are affected from intellectual disabilities and be non-verbal.
Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.
Included in the five sub-types of ASD are:
Scientists aren’t certain what causes autism, but it’s likely that both genetics and environment play a role. Researchers have identified a number of genes associated with the disorder. Studies of people with autism have found irregularities in several regions of the brain. Other studies suggest that people with autism have abnormal levels of serotonin or other neurotransmitters in the brain. These abnormalities suggest that autism could result from the disruption of normal brain development early in fetal development caused by defects in genes that control brain growth and that regulate how neurons communicate with each other. While these findings are intriguing, they are preliminary and require further study. The theory that parental practices are responsible for autism has now been disproved.